Australian manganese producer Element 25 has been granted $US166 million ($243 million) by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to partially fund the refining facility it is building in Louisiana.
According to the US Government, Element 25 plans to build and operate a first of its kind, environmentally sustainable refining facility with the aims of producing high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) which is a critical raw material in lithium-ion batteries.
Element 25 is set to construct a 230,000-square-foot HPMSM refining facility with the hope of producing around 65,000 tonnes of HPMSM annually, derived from the manganese ore sourced from Element 25’s Butcherbird mine in Western Australia.
This plant is set be one of the first commercial facilities in the US to produce HPMSM, with the potential to reduce the current dependency on Chinese sources and create jobs in the area.
The US Government said Element 25 has developed a proprietary process to remove the solid waste residue as byproducts which each have industrial applications.
These byproducts will be sold, thus eliminating the need for a solid waste landform.
Element 25’s efficient process permits a mine-to-market carbon footprint that is approximately 67 per cent lower in comparison to those in China, according to the US Government.
Element 25 managing director Justin Brown welcomed the grant.
“This grant from the US Department of Energy, once finalised, represents a major milestone in our development of the Louisiana HPMSM Project and adds to the commitments already received from GM and Stellantis which include both offtake and financing agreements in support of the refinery,” he said.
“The grant will fund up to half of the construction capital costs for the project and when combined with existing commitments, will propel the project towards financial close and commencement of construction, creating long–term jobs for Louisiana and delivering ethically sourced, IRA-compliant HPMSM to our customers.”
With the electric vehicle market expected to expand into the future, so will the demand for batteries.
Battery-grade manganese is a high purity crystalline cobalt sulphate with low levels of impurity and is used battery materials in lithium-ion batteries.
Sales of electric vehicles has declined in recent times but still accounted for 8.3 per cent of new vehicles sold in Australia in the month of June.
According to MarketWatch, 2023 EV sales in the US increased by 60 per cent to 1.6 million in 2023, up from 1 million in 2022.
The US Government also supported another Australian miner, with South32’s Hermosa project awarded a grant of up to $US166 million from the US DOE.
Subscribe to Australian Mining and receive the latest news on product announcements, industry developments, commodities and more.
